With the recent announcement from President Donald Trump that he plans to declare the opioid crisis in America a national emergency, Utahns in particular could benefit from treatment expansion efforts, state officials say.

Trump's announcement came Thursday from his New Jersey golf club. The formal declaration would allow the federal government to expand its powers and give states additional resources to combat opioid overdoses.

While no clear direction or statement on how those resources will manifest has yet to be issued from the Trump Administration, he said he's "drawing the documents now" in order to officially declare the "tremendous problem" a national emergency.

Prescription drug abuse in Southwest Utah.

Prescription drug abuse in Southwest Utah.

Emily Havens / The Spectrum & Daily News

"Nobody is safe from this epidemic that threatens young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural communities — everybody is threatened," Trump said.

In Utah, where the need for opioid abuse treatment is particularly high, six residents die each week from opioid drug overdoses, according to the Utah Department of Health.

And according to the Centers for Disease Control, 91 Americans die each day from opioid overdoes.

For St. George in particular — which has a higher opioid overdose death rate than the state average — 33 people died of opioid overdoses in 2014-15, according to the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. The only other "small area" in the state that ranked higher was Springville/Spanish Fork at 38 deaths. Cedar City's rate fell below the state's average, with 14 opioid overdose deaths reported during that time.

Southern Utah started to see spikes of opioid addiction and overdoses in 2005, according to Logan Reid, director of prevention and education services at the Southwest Behavioral Health Center.

In 2016, the CDC reported opioid prescribing rates per 100 persons. Utah's prescribing rate was 70.4, while the overall rate in the nation was 66.5.

Both Washington and Iron Counties reported higher prescription rates than Salt Lake County in 2016, at rates of 89 and nearly 104, respectively.

Overdose deaths involving opioids across the U.S. from 2000-2005.

Overdose deaths involving opioids across the U.S. from 2000-2005.

Centers of Disease Control and Prevention

In a quarter of all of the counties in the U.S., there were enough opioid prescriptions dispensed in 2016 for every person to have one, the CDC reports.

The CDC analyzes opioids in four separate categories, which help identify what types of drugs are considered opiates.

For example, morphine and codeine are "natural opioids," while drugs like methadone, tramadol and fentanyl belong in the synthetic category. Semi-synthetic opiates include drugs such as oxycodone, hygrocodeone, hydromorphone, and oxymorphone.

The most common illicit type of opioid is heroin, which actually claims less American lives than overdoses from commonly prescribed painkillers, according to the CDC.

St. George Police officer Lona Trombley said the most helpful expansion President Trump could extend to local facilities would be more man power.

"We're fortunate because we have an extremely supportive city council, and we've been approved for more officers, but that would be the biggest help to have more officers to help combat that," Trombley said.

Trombley said it's a problem here, but as an Ohio native, she also said it was a problem back home.

Utah's public system for mental health and drug abuse counseling is shrinking.

Utah's public system for mental health and drug abuse counseling is shrinking.

The Spectrum & Daily News file photo

"It doesn't matter where you live," Trombley said. "Even if it's just a few people, that's a few people too many."

In addition to having a prescription drop-off box at the SGPD available year-round, Trombley said every officer has Narcan with them while on duty.

Narcan is an Federal Drug Administration approved nasal spray that allows for the emergency treatment of a possible opioid overdose. The medicine it administers, naloxone, can reverse an overdose by blocking the effects that opiates have on the brain.

The SGPD also works closely with the SBHC to assist in community education and outreach as well as organizing drug take-back events, which are typically held at the Smith's parking lot on Bluff Street.

Reid also added since 2008, when the SBHC implemented a community coalition that made opioid addition its primary focus, prescription narcotic abuse among youth in Southern Utah has decreased significantly.

The center continues to seek grand funding to maintain programs that assist in opioid-specific prevention, Reid said, including training for doctors who prescribe narcotics, drug disposal programs, curriculum for students, community education seminars, training on nalozone, and promotion of Southern Utah's "Use Only as Directed" campaign.

Kelsey said if and/or when Trump declares the opioid crisis a national emergency, it would be helpful if it allows the state more flexibility around federal regulations; like, for example, he cited a regulation that disallows treatment centers with more than 16 beds to bill Medicaid.

“It doesn't matter where you live. Even if it affects a few people, that's a few people too many.”

-&nbspLona Trombley, St. George Police Department

Overall, Kelsey said the approach to barring the growth of the crisis begins with processes that are thought out and evidence based.

"It's not a problem we're going to arrest our way out of or treat our way out of," Kelsey said. "It's going to require a comprehensive approach that addresses the supply and demand side of the issue."

What Kelsey means is implementing a continuum of services that range from education to treatment to recovery support. He also cited making medications that eradicate opioid addiction more available could be "extremely helpful but are often underutilized."

The last national emergency declaration for a health-related issue was taken by President Barack Obama in 2009 during the spread of H1N1 influenza virus.

USA Today reported that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said the administration has "all the resources it needs to combat the epidemic without formally invoking emergency powers."

"When you have the capacity of Yankee Stadium or Dodger Stadium dying every single year in this nation, that's a crisis that had to be given incredible attention, and the president is giving it that attention," Price told USA Today.